Russian Reality Show Will Allow Rape & Murder

New Russian Survival Reality Show Will Allow Rape & Murder

Yes, you read the headline correctly. And yes, it means exactly what you think it does. In what seems like the perfect setup for a scary movie (or just, you know, the end of 2016), participants on the upcoming Russian reality show Game2: Winter need to survive in a Siberian taiga — a cold-ass forest with wild bears and dangerous insects — for nine months. According to the Siberian Times, show creators claim that for participants, “everything is allowed,” specifically naming rape and murder as acts for which producers will claim no liability. I’m not sure how rape fits into this scenario — but then again, it never fits into any scenario. You can watch the series online 24 hours a day, in several languages, once it goes live. Where is Katniss Everdeen to shut this madness down?

Each contestant will be allowed a maximum of 100 kilograms of equipments and will be permitted to carry knives, but no guns. (We would hate for things to get out of hand.) There will be no film crew, but over 2,000 cameras placed strategically throughout the taiga. Each player will also have a helmet-attached camera. If the going gets too tough for participants, they can press a satellite-enabled panic button that will prompt helicopters to extract them from game. The same process is in place for them if they get too sick or injured. The winner will walk away with 100 million roubles, which is the equivalent of about $1.65 million. In the event that there are multiple survivors, they will split the amount. That's not enough of a payout for me to commit murder, rape, or even test my skills against wild bears.

Game2: Winter is basically TheHunger Games meets Westworld. Would-be contestants can pay 10 million roubles (about $165,000) to join the show, or get voted in by viewers. Yevgeny Pyatkovsky, the twisted mind behind the show, says that by allowing people to pay to be on the show, he’s hoping to attract the “rich and risky.” So basically, facing death is the last frontier of excitement for people with ridiculous amounts of money. No wonder I don’t understand the appeal.

While the showrunners aren’t against things getting gory, they do have a warning for contestants: “You must understand that the police will come and take you away. We are on the territory of Russia, and obey the laws of the Russian Federation.” But anyone who’s seen a horror film knows that the police always show up 10 minutes late to tragedy, so I wouldn’t bank on the authorities actually helping anyone in this situation.

The only thing that could make this show more horrific would be a crazed axe murderer who already lives in the forest.